


We Are The Crystal Grumps

by grumpy_games (No_Good_Usernames_Left)



Category: Game Grumps, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: space rocks yo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-05 10:13:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4175997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/No_Good_Usernames_Left/pseuds/grumpy_games
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Game Grumps as space rocks, as inspired by Alligator-Jigglin-Fever on Tumblr.</p>
<p>Hopefully in some sort of coherent order and somewhat coherently conveyed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Music Box Gem

**Author's Note:**

> I finally got around to writing and posting this. I've been wanting to write this AU since I saw it c:
> 
> Updating speed depends on general response to chapters. AKA, your kudos and comments make me wanna write more. I know every author says that, but who wants to write a story nobody cares about?? (Not me)
> 
> Constructive criticism welcome and encouraged! I haven't written fan fiction in forever, and I've never written the Grumps yet at all.

The Crystal Grumps were digging through their bubbles, which none of them had ever really organized, to find Ross' "special shovel" that he'd apparently accidentally bubbled. Suzy vowed to organize this place. They sent practically everything to their bubble room and never let it back out, so the room was so packed with bubbles it was hard to move without popping any. 

And that's exactly why one was popped. Arin had accidentally bumped it while trying to reach a bubble he thought looked shovel-ish, and the others rushed over when they heard the distinct pop! 

Their weapons were drawn. Nobody knew how to handle this, because if a monster regenerated, it'd pop all the other bubbles, and they'd have a room full of corrupted gems and dangerous weapons to deal with.

But no monster appeared. A simple box fell to the floor. "Huh," Barry breathed, his shield poofing into bits of stardust and sparkle. "It's that old music box."

"I don't remember a music box," Ross said, taking a step closer. 

"It was before you came on the team. We used to use it all the time," said Barry, picking up the box and smiling fondly.

"I don't remember that, either," Arin stated. He gently took the box from Barry to examine it. It was a deep blue color, with a slightly cracked red gem in the middle of the lid and a golden latch. He pulled it open, revealing a tiny golden dancer figurine with a red gem on his stomach, surrounded by gears. Directly in front of the dancer's platform was a wind up key.

He twisted it and the gears sprang to life, making the figurine spin and notes pour out. The song was beautiful, and it ended too soon. The dancer slowed down and finally halted. Arin looked up to see the others listening just as intently as he was, with expressions of admiration and pleasantness. And the last note struck, so quietly, Arin felt amazing. He was insanely happy and energized.

He was reluctant to bubble the box back up, so he kept it with him while they resumed search for the shovel. Suzy ended up finding it, and she returned it to Ross without incident.

They were just about to leave, and Barry looked at Arin expectantly. The message was clear, he was waiting for Arin to bubble the music box so they could get outta there. Arin hesitated.

"Would it be okay with you guys if I kept this," he asked after a moment. They all looked at each other and shrugged, indifferent.

"Do what you want, man," Ross said losing interest.

"It certainly couldn't hurt anyone, even if it tried. And it'll probably come in handy, someday, anyways, and we won't want to go digging in here again if we need it," Barry consented. Suzy nodded supportively and Arin smiled and held onto the box as they left. If he was curious about Barry implying the box could try to hurt anyone, he didn't mention it.

d=(´▽｀)=b d=(´▽｀)=b d=(´▽｀)=b

Arin lied awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't need sleep, of course, but he and the other Crystal Grumps found it was helpful to have a rested mind and body, and therefore slept once a week. He could usually fall asleep pretty easily, but tonight he couldn't at all.

He must've been there for an hour when the idea came. "Maybe some music can soothe me to sleep or something," he said aloud to himself as he reached blindly for the music box on his nightstand. He quickly fell into it's trance once more, watching the figurine spin and listening to the gorgeous sounding notes spread across the room. However, as the last note struck, he felt even more awake than before.

He frustratedly snapped the lid shut, reaching out to put it on the bedside table once more. When he took his hand off, it fell to the floor, and he groaned before realizing the gem had come out and was now floating in the air, bathing the room in light. He shot out of bed, summoning his blaster.

The light took shape of a mannequin-like silhouette, then sprouted a head full of curly hair and clothes. The man slowly descended onto the ground, and as soon as he touched it he took a large, gasping breath and his hand flew to his gem on his stomach. His blank eyes then landed on Arin, standing there, startled.

"You let me out?" Arin stood there a minute, forgetting to respond, but then the new gem's face took on a look of confusion and his words came back to him. He put away his weapon, not wanting to threaten the gem.

"I didn't think- I didn't think that there was a gem... That _you_ were trapped in there," Arin responded, still shocked.  The new gem suddenly looked pissed.

"Of course! Did you think that was a regular music box," he asked angrily. Arin stood there dumbfounded, hoping another of the Crystal Grumps would hear them and come for backup in case this gem was dangerous.

"Actually," he started, feeling guilty that he did think it was a regular music box. It didn't matter though, because he was cut off quickly.

"That was a _healing_ music box," the gem informed him furiously, taking a step towards him and gesturing in the air. "And I have been trapped in that thing for, like, forever!"

Just then, Barry rushed into the room. "Woah, you let him out?!" The gem whipped around to stare at him.

"I didn't mean to, the box fell and the gem came out by itself," Arin defended, and the gem glared back at him, the beginnings of tears forming in his eyes.

"You weren't even going to let me out?!" He suddenly drew a sword, and wildly swung at Arin. It probably would've sliced him, had Barry not run in with his shield to block it.

"I didn't even know you were in there!" Arin dodged another swish of the sword, and another, and another, each one seeming increasingly powerful and graceful. Looks like the gem was getting the hang of fighting again.

"Wait, you didn't know that was a gem," Barry asked, blocking another jab at Arin. Arin glared at him.

"Well apparently everyone knew but me," he shouted, frustrated.

" _How could you not know that_ ," the gem asked, raising his sword up for a blow Arin knew he couldn't dodge or block. 

THWANG!!

The gem let out a cry and fell to the ground, unconscious and unable to retreat to his gem because it was cracked. Ross stood behind where he once stood, with wide eyes and a still ringing shovel.


	2. The Singing Gem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing the storyline from the last chapter.

The gem Arin had accidentally released was lying unconscious on the couch, surrounded by the Crystal Grumps, who were each ready to take him down if he fights again. This also gave them a good time to study him. His skin was pale, with a blueish tint to it that was barely noticeable. He had relatively short, curly hair, a wide nose, and a scar across one of his eyebrows. He wore dark, almost black, blue ninja-like clothes, that split open just high enough in the front to see his cherry-red gem.

Arin remembered the gem's creepily pupil-less light blue eyes. He figured that was due to the crack in his gem, which had grown when the box had been dropped and again when Ross had to whack him with his shovel.

They all tensed when his eyes slowly opened. "Huh?" He looked around the room, confused.

"If you start freaking out again, you're going to be defeated and bubbled," Suzy warned him.

"Not back in the box?" He looked hopeful. Arin felt a coil of guilt in his gut for leaving the gem in there as long as he did, for not knowing. It must've been hell in that box.

"We would force you back in there, but none of us really know how," Ross admitted. Relief washed over the gem's face.

"So, are you going to attack us, or are you going to act like a normal, civilized gem and be good?" The gem looked at Arin when he asked, his bluish white eyes blank and wide. He nodded, and Arin raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, uhh, I'm not just gonna attack you," he said after a moment, sounding hesitant. "I shouldn't have fought in the first place, I was sort of just overwhelmed, I guess. But I am pissed," he explained. Arin sat on the couch next to him and he scooted away a bit.

"So, what's your story," Barry asked as the other grumps all took seats around the room. They were still prepared to take him down, but he didn't seem to be a threat just yet and they could relax a tad.

"I'm Danny. Er, I mean, Red Cummingtonite. But everyone calls me Danny," he said, stopping and glaring at Ross when he giggled. "What?!"

"Nothing! It's just... Cummingtonite sounds really inappropriate," Ross explained between laughs. Danny looked confused, and even somewhat offended.

"It's an Earth thing," Suzy offered. "We've been here for a long time. Ignore him. He's just being immature." Danny narrowed his eyes and then continued.

"Homeworld caught my best friend Ninja Brian, umm, Bloodstone and I trying to run away, and when they tried to stop us, we fused and wrecked shit up. They eventually brought us down, though, and put us in holding cells while they decided what to do with us. I knew they'd try to make me into a tool so they could still take advantage of my powers, because that's what they do to most rogue gems. I cracked my gem, thinking they couldn't force me in there that way, but I was wrong. They stuffed me into that little music box and put Brian in-- Oh, God, Brian!!"

He was suddenly panicking. "You guys had the music box, so I'm hoping you'll have him, too," he explained, getting up frantically. "Is there, like, a super deadly knife anywhere around here? With a black and red gem in it," he said, looking under pillows and in the drawers.

"Dude, relax! If he's anywhere, he'll be in the bubble room. Barry, Suzy, you guys go look for that knife," Arin directed. "Ross and I will watch Dan." Ross put a comforting hand on Dan's shoulder, which he jumped away from. He glared at Ross and then sat back down.

"Don't touch me," Danny told him, still angry about them keeping him in a box.

"Okay, I guess we'll share our stories, then." Arin took a deep breathe and began to tell their tale. 

"Suzy and I left Homeworld to come to Earth. We met Barry here, and later we got Ross from the Kindergarten." Ross and Danny both frowned.

"What's a Kindergarten," Dan asked, confused.

"You must've been in there quite a long time. Homeworld made it on Earth to use the planet's life force to create new gems," said Ross, with a petulant tone. Dan nodded at Arin to continue.

"We built this house-temple ourselves and there are a ton of rooms. A few have limited access, but most are open to all of us. None are open to you." Danny scowled at him. Ross laughed 

"Wow, you're really grumpy. You'd fit right in, here." Arin glared at Ross when he said that. "Hahah, see? Arin's a grump, too!"

"Are you suggesting I join your team," Dan asked, looking somewhat hopeful and somewhat resentful. Ross shrugged while Arin glared some more.

Just then, Barry and Suzy walked in with the knife. Danny looked overjoyed and reached for the weapon, only to have them pull it away from his outreached hand. A look of terror and possessiveness flew over his face.

"We can't just let him out," Barry told him. "We don't know who he is or what he's like."

"He's Ninja Brian and he's my best friend! Now let me have him," Danny insisted. Suzy suddenly looked like she realized something. She gasped.

"Are you two... Like... A permanent fusion?" Her eyes sparkled as Dan looked at her. He looked like he didn't want to tell her no.

"We're too volatile," he admitted. "Our fusion is really not a fun guy to be around for long." Her face fell, and Dan snatched the knife while the attention wasn't on him. He quickly pried the gem out of the knife and threw the weapon to the ground, holding the gem up into the air where it soon began to float.

"Danny!! What the hell," Ross yelled frantically, summoning his shovel as the gem began to glow. Each of the Grumps drew their weapons, prepared to fight Brian. Dan drew his sword and stood in between them and Brian in protection.

"Stand down, Dan," Arin warned, taking aim. The gem glared at him and sung a short melody that was beautiful but hurt so badly, making him cover his ears. He fell to his knees as Brian's glowing figure touched the ground.

Dan looked desperate and sorry, and he said something to Arin that he couldn't hear because his ears were ringing. Brian stepped out from behind Dan, looking around. He immediately looked furious, and Arin was scared the others would get hurt and he couldn't help.

Ross raised his shovel, about to attack. However, before he could even swing, the two new gems were on the warp pad, and had warped away.

Everyone sat there shocked for a moment, and then Suzy said the words everyone was thinking. "They could be anywhere."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated! Updates will be fairly frequent until I can get an idea of how many people like this book. If its worth it, updates will remain frequent, and if not, they will slow down a bit.
> 
> My Tumblr: sunderious.tumblr.com


	3. The Bubble Bear Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After searching for a month, the Crystal Grumps find those elusive Ninjas. Well, one ninja and one guy who sorta could be a ninja. He has ninja-ish clothes. Okay.

"They could be at the wind fortress," Ross suggested, looking over their map of the connecting warps again. The Crystal Grumps had been searching for Danny and Brian for about a month now, and they still had no trace of them. Red X's were drawn where they'd already thoroughly checked, but of course the pair could've warped there later. There was no way of knowing where they could be other than to keep searching until they found them.

"The Wind Fortress has the guardian, remember? It takes all four of us to get in. I doubt they could get in with just two," Barry reasoned.

"Well we've pretty much searched everywhere that there's an active warp pad to. The only two places left that have gone completely unchecked are the Wind Fortress and the Underground Temple," informed Suzy. 

"They could easily be in the Underground Temple! Its an open warp, and we already defeated the corrupted gems inside and took anything of worth," Ross said, pointing at the connected warp on the map.

"Let's go check there, then," Arin said. They went over to the warp pad. "What are we even gonna do with them when we find them?" The others all shrugged as the pad activated.

"They don't seem very evil or anything," said Suzy. "Just sorta freaked out. Well, Brian seems a little evil. But Danny hasn't done anything I wouldn't do, yet."

"Maybe we can just sort of keep an eye on them until they stop acting mean," Ross said, stepping off of the warp into the cool, moist air of a cave.  Together, they all moved towards the back of the cave where they found a tunnel leading straight down.

They jumped in one at a time without thinking much about it, and ended up in a huge pile at the bottom, where poor Ross was groaning underneath all of them. Barry quickly covered Ross' mouth as he saw Dan and Brian.

"Don't look at me! You landed us here in the first place. I wasn't controlling the warp at all," Danny accused rather loudly, pointing an accusatory finger at Ninja Brian. The Grumps noticed his gem was no longer cracked and his eyes were back to normal, a deep shade of blue filling them.

Brian raised an eyebrow. Dan suddenly looked like he was being accused of murder, and he shouted, "No, Brian, they're more likely to find us if we move around every two minutes! We're gonna run right into them, and they're gonna hurt us, because apparently we're a threat!" A pause, and then, "No, you're not the reason we're a threat! They barely even caught a glimpse of you. I, on the other hand, tried to fight them... There was too a reason! They weren't gonna let us out!" Dan's eyes were red now, the color of his gem, and his body language easily showed he was worked up. Brian rolled his eyes.

"Okay. Whatever," Dan said begrudgingly. "Lead the way." They moved to one of the various warp pads scattered along the room and warped off. The Grumps finally got up and dusted themselves off.

"What do you think that was about," Suzy asked, going to stand by the warp the pair had just used.

"They're legitimately scared of us," Arin said, walking over. "Or at least Dan was. I have no clue about that Brian guy. Should we follow them?"

"I'm not sure where this warp leads, I left the map at home," Ross warned. Arin sighed.

"Ross, I thought you had them all memorized," he said. Ross raised his eyebrows.

"There are tons of warps! I only memorized the ones in our temple." 

"Well, the good thing is they don't know what they're getting into either. Let's go," Suzy said, stepping on the warp pad with everyone else and activating it.

They arrived at the Wind Fortress, much to their surprise. Was it a coincidence, or did the pair of ninja dudes know this was the only place they hadn't gone? Currently, Danny and Brian were fighting off the giant guardian, which was a huge orange bear-like creature with a gem in place of it's eye. It shot bubbles out of his mouth when it roared, and you could easily get trapped in a bubble. The Grumps were familiar with it because they had to pass it every time they went into the Fortress, and it was too dangerous to bubble it and leave the place without a guard.

It took all four of them to get past the bear, so they were expecting the two new gems to go down pretty easy. However, each seemed to be holding his own. Brian flung shurikens at the bear, cutting and stabbing it all over. Dan would leap forward and thrust, slice, or jab at the bear every few seconds, then jump back before it could retaliate. They both easily dodged the bubbles, popping them as they ran by.

Suddenly, Brian charged the bear with a large knife, and stabbed it multiple times in the stomach quite violently while Danny laughed. The Grumps all watched in awe and slight fear as the bear fell to the ground and retreated into its gem.

"Well, we have nowhere to bubble it to. And we can't have it come back while we're here, can we? Who knows how quickly this thing'll regenerate... What're we gonna do with it?" Ninja Brian glared at Dan.

"Yeah, I guess we could just crush it. There's not really anything else I can think of doing. Go ahead," Danny allowed, and Brian raised his foot to stomp on the defenseless gem. Just before he did, though, Ross ran out.

"Stop it! What are you, crazy? What kind of sicko crushes gems?" Ross snatched the gem from under Brian's foot and quickly bubbled it, sending it off to be retrieved later and returned to the Fortress. Dan looked shocked, and Brian looked. Well. Like Brian.

The other Grumps stepped forwards. "You guys can't run forever," Suzy warned them. "We've found you. Now, nothing against you, but we've gotta protect each other and the Earth, and right now you two are definitely a huge threat. So, you have two options. Come with us and we'll keep an eye on you until you prove yourselves and earn our trust, or fight the team, go down, and be bubbled."

The other Grumps awaited their answer anxiously. Dan and Brian looked at each other, then back at Suzy.

"That's not really much of a choice," Dan said after a moment, following them back to the warp pad.


	4. Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arin decides that if Danny and Ninja Brian are gonna be stuck on Earth with them, he should get to know them better.

Arin was looking for Dan and Brian. There weren't many rooms they had access to, but there were a few, and he wanted to bond or whatever with them. The entire week they'd been living in the temple, they'd kept to themselves. He'd never seen Brian away from Danny, and he only rarely saw Dan away from Brian. They were pretty chill, although Brian seemed as cold as ever and Danny was still cross.

He found them in the living room, just sitting there. They weren't talking, just sitting there looking at each other like a couple of weirdos. "Hey," he said, taking a seat between them. Brian stood up and walked over to sit by Danny, giving Arin a death glare as he did so.

"Hello," Danny said, looking at Arin expectantly. After an awkward moment of silence, he said, "Did you need something?"

"Nah, just wanted to hang out," Arin told him, leaning back a bit.

"Oh." And with that, the room was plunged back onto silence. Arin looked up and saw Ninja Brian and Danny both staring at him now. He felt like he was intruding. He almost left, but then he remembered it wasn't their temple and he could sit wherever he wanted. Still, he wanted to make it less awkward.

"Does Ninja Brian ever talk? Like, at all?" As soon as he said it, he regretted it. Brian narrowed his eyes and Dan looked completely unsure of what to do. The room was uncomfortable and tense.

"Are you and Suzy partners?" Arin blinked. That didn't answer his question.

"I asked you first," he pointed out. The corners of Dan's mouth turned upwards. 

"He doesn't talk. Well, he talks to me sometimes, but even that is very rare. Don't be sad he doesn't talk to you," Dan said, with Brian sitting there, angry looking as ever. "Now you gotta answer mine."

Arin laughed and said, "Oh, is that how it's gonna be? For every question I ask, you get to ask a question?" Dan nodded, smirking now. The mood was lighter. "Okay. Yes, Suzy and I are a couple. Are you an Brian a couple?"

Dan laughed, but it was a nervous laugh. "Sort of. We're not, like a romantic couple, but we're best friends and we wouldn't leave each other's side for the world." He patted Brian's shoulder, and Brian pushed his hand away. "So, if you and Suzy are a couple, why don't you fuse?"

Arin grimaced. "Why don't you and Brian fuse?" Dan looked at him expectantly. He sighed and said, "Suzy and I have just chosen not to. We prefer to be separate entities."

"As I've already said, Manticore isn't much fun for anyone but us, and its hard to keep control and function properly while we're fused." Brian rolled his eyes. "Are there any other gems on Earth?"

"Not that we know of, but maybe. We're on the look out, just in case. How do you and Brian communicate, if not through words?"

"Come on, Arin," Dan said with an exaggerated look of smug disbelief on his face. "We've been together for a looong time, of course I know what he's saying. Are there any warps that go off planet?"

"No, we've destroyed them all so Homeworld doesn't come again. Why do you want to know that?"

"We were looking for one," the gem admitted. "We wanted to leave Earth, but not go back to Homeworld." There was a pause as Dan realized the implications of Arin's answer. "So... We're completely isolated here? No other gems? No way to contact anyone or leave?" 

"Maybe in a few hundred years. Maybe. Earth has been working on space travel, and a few humans have been to the moon and such. But its still very primitive, and slow," Arin answered. Danny looked heartbroken, and even Brian looked a bit mournful. After giving them a minute, Arin asked his question, "Why did you fight when you knew you couldn't win and you knew you'd be punished for crimes against Homeworld? You knew you'd be crammed inside those tools. You could've just allowed your capture, and have much less severe consequences."

Danny looked disgusted. "We hated it there. Homeworld is terrible. Not only are they morally wrong, but there was nothing for us there. We were miserable," he said resentfully, his eyes turning the same shade of red as his gem as he talked. "We wanted out. We never agreed to their twisted views of life, of fusion, of people. We don't regret fighting. We'd rather end up here than there any day," he finished. 

"Your eyes are red," pointed out Arin. "Is that what happens when you're worked up?"

Danny looked shocked. "My eyes are red? I thought they were blue!" Arin handed him a mirror that had been close by. He looked in it, confused, as his eyes slowly reverted back to purple, then blue. "Nobody ever told me that happened," he muttered. Brian shrugged. "Dude, you knew? Why didn't you te-- oh, right. I guess that wasn't important enough to warrant you speaking. And everybody else thought I knew. How crazy is that," he asked, smiling at Arin. 

Arin laughed. "Dude, you didn't know? How do you not know that?"

Danny laughed, too, and said, "I don't know, I guess I just never look in mirrors while I'm angry!" Soon the two were making jokes about it, piggybacking off of each other's ideas and dissolving into a mess of giggles. 

Ninja Brian glared at Arin particularly threateningly, but the Grump didn't notice.


	5. Schoolyard Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Brian aren't as good at this group thing as everyone had hoped they'd be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super sorry for such a late update!! My birthday was the 25th, and I was super busy...

"Nah," Dan said, trying not to laugh as he delivered his joke. "I don't think humans would react poorly if we didn't wear clothes. We're attractive aliens. They'd dig it." Both he and Ross gave into their laughter.

"I don't think they'd appreciate that," Ross laughed. "As hot as we are, they have a thing against being naked."

"What?? Why," Danny asked, laughing at the absurdity of it. "They all look the same, right?"

"No, the boys have different parts than girls," Ross said.

"Well, yeah, duh, but a boys a boy and a girls a girl, right? How do they mate if they can't ever see each other's genitals?"

"Well, once they find someone they like then they go home and do it in private," Ross told him, feeling silly about having to explain something he'd understood for years.

"So they can see each other? Man, this makes no sense," Dan laughed. Ninja Brian watched them through the window, glaring at Ross. Nobody noticed.

"I dunno, man, its their culture. So, what, do you guys just strut around naked on Homeworld?" Dan gave him a funny look.

"You're a gem, you should know that some gems do," he told him. Ross frowned.

"I've never been to Homeworld," he said, sounding annoyed.

"Oh yeah! You're from that Kindergarten place Arin mentioned. What's that all about, anyways," Danny asked, to oblivious to Ross' discomfort to change topics.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Ross muttered, leaving the room. Just as he was walking out, Suzy walked in. He ignored her greeting and she looked a bit offended and a bit worried. She sat beside Danny.

"Hey Danny! What's wrong with Ross," she asked. Dan shrugged.

"I don't even know," he admitted. "We were talking and laughing and then he just got up and left." Suzy pursed her lips.

"Well what were you talking about when he left?" 

"I asked what Kindergarten was and he said he didn't want to tell me and then he walked out." Suzy sighed.

"Look, Danny, I know you didn't know, but he's sort of touchy about that," she told him gently. Guilt and worry washed over him like a tsunami for bringing it up.

"Kindergarten was a place they made bad gems. Ross is the only good Kindergarten gem we know of. Now you see why he doesn't wanna talk about it much," she told him.

"Yeah. I won't bring it up again," Dan promised. Brian rolled his eyes at their sentiment. 

Suzy smiled at him and said, "Alright, well I'm gonna go do some checks on the warps to make sure nothing's up. Wanna come?"

"I'd love to," Dan admitted, having not been allowed out of their temple since he was brought there. "But I'm gonna go apologize to Ross first."

Suzy grimaced. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Nope, but I'm gonna. I'll be right back," he said, making his way to the hallway Ross left by. "Please don't leave without me!"

He followed the hallway to the center of the temple. There were two doors, one to his right and one to his left. The one on his right had a star with a gem on each point but the top. The one on his right had a star with no gems on it.

He'd never been to this part of this temple, but he knew how doors worked because he wasn't an idiot. He hoped Ross was in his room, and that he'd answer the door. 

He walked up to the door on his left and knocked on it. "Ross?"

Arin opened it. "Dan! Need something?"

"I was hoping Ross would answer. Sorry," he said, disappointed he wouldn't get to talk to Ross before he left.

"Oh! Well you can get to Ross' room from mine. I'll show you the way," Arin offered. Dan blinked in the doorway.

"You're letting me in your room?"

"Sure, why not," Arin said, motioning for him to follow. Danny hesitated in the doorway.

"Are you sure it'll be okay for me to just go in there without his permission? Not to mention he's already mad at me," Dan asked. Arin shrugged.

"Good point. I'd say to just talk to him later, then," Arin suggested, closing the door. Dan sighed.

When he walked into the living room, Ninja Brian was there and Suzy wasn't. "Where'd Suzy go?" Brian rolled his eyes.

"We were gonna go check on some warps," Dan said, puzzled as to why she'd leave without him. "Surely it wasn't so urgent she couldn't wait a few more minutes..." Brian looked at Danny innocently. Dan was immediately suspicious.

"What'd you do, Brian?" Brian raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Brian, I'm serious, we've gotta get these people to like us! How badly did you fuck this up?" Brian held out his fist, holding something. Danny gave him an unsure look, but Ninja Brian continued to look at him expectantly.

Dan reluctantly held out his hand under Brian's, not exactly ready for whatever was going to fall into it. Something cold and hard, and relatively heavy for it's size, dropped into his palm. He was horrified. 

It was Suzy's gem.

 

[TO BE CONTINUED]


	6. Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving away from Dan-centric chapters for a bit once this mini storyline finishes up, which should be in one or two chapters. Next chapter will be more Holly-centric anyways, but Dan's still a big character in it, too. Then focusing on Suzy. I'll bring Kevin in later in the book.

"Brian, what the actual fuck?" Danny panicked, keeping a tight hold of the green gem. He knew that this was normal behavior for Ninja Brian, and he was cool with it, but the Crystal Grumps did not know and probably would not be cool with it once they did. "You may have just ruined our lives, Bri. There's no telling what they do to us, and we're stuck here."

Brian glared at him, and Danny groaned. "Uuuugh, we can't just hide her until she regenerates! God knows how long she takes, and they'll search for her all the while. Plus, what if she doesn't take it well?! That could make it worse," Dan argued, his eyes a cherry red just like his gem now. Brian's glare gained intensity, and Danny understood.

"Well, no. I guess there's not a better option. Maybe she'll hear us out. Where are we gonna keep her, though?" Brian nodded at the doorway leading to the Grumps' rooms. "Oh... That might work..."

"We'll have to lie, though," Danny reminded Brian, walking out of the living room and into the short hallway. "We can't actually stay." He knocked on the door on the left again, and Arin answered just like before.

"Dan! You're back. And you brought Ninja Brian. Cool. Why're your eyes red? Did you talk to Ross?" Arin looked curious, and clueless. Danny tried not to feel guilty as he clutched Suzy's gem behind his back. 

"Not yet, but Ninja Brian and I have been talking, well, not literally, but we think we want to join your team. If that's okay with you?"

Arin blinked, and then his face lit up. "Of course!! Come on, we'll get you guys rooms. There's only one room left in this door, so I'll get you guys some where you can be together," he said, walking across the clearing to the door on the right. "These ones don't really connect to the others, though. I'm pretty sure one of them connects with Barry's? I dunno. You'll find out."

Dan felt pretty awkward holding the gem behind his back, and there was no way Arin wouldn't notice soon. He discreetly handed Suzy to Brian while Arin was setting up the door, and stepped forward. "I'll go first," he quickly said, shoving his gem into the cold sensory goop on the door so it could read it and make his room. He shivered at the strange sensation, and soon the room took up all of his mind.

Arin turned around to talk to Ninja Brian while Dan was building his room, but the ninja gem had disappeared. He frowned, looking around for the gem, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Soon Dan was finished. "God, those doors are so uncomfortable for anyone who's gem is on their torso. Haven't they upgraded them by now?"

"I'm sure they have on Homeworld, but we haven't. You could always retreat into your gem and lemme place it in there. It'd go quicker, too." Dan shivered, feeling both guilty about Suzy being stuck in her gem and highly uncomfortable with going back into his gem. Arin snapped him out of it, saying, "Brian left somewhere. I dunno where. I just turned around and he was gone."

Brian walked back into the room while Arin wasn't facing the doorway. Dan rolled his eyes at him. _Nice plan not to be caught, dummy._ "He's right here," Dan said, walking over to Ninja Brian and putting his arm around his shoulder. He secretly relieved Brian of Suzy's gem with his other hand. 

"Oh! Come on Ninja Brian, your turn," Arin said, nudging him over to the doorway, which now sported a shiny red gem in the middle of the star as well as the sensory goop. Brian stood there and glared at Arin expectantly. "Huh?"

"I think he wants you to leave. I'll stay here with him, don't worry! We're gonna check out our rooms and everything and then we'll come get you again," Danny excused. Arin hesitated, then walked over to his door.

"Well, the first part of a team is trust, so okay," he said, opening his door. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, though, or you're getting bubbled," he warned. Dan gave a weak smile and a thumbs up.

Brian raised his eyebrows and motioned towards Suzy's gem as soon as Arin left. Dan held it tighter, saying, "Oh, no way! We are not bubbling her! She'll never come out of there!" Brian shrugged, and put his own gem in the sensory goop.

Danny sighed and stood watch, because Brian would be angry if he didn't. He looked into Suzy's gem while he waited, pondering what her reaction would be.She seemed pretty understanding, but there was no doubt she'd be ticked off that Brian murdered her.

Suddenly, a warp could be heard from the living room. The door across the one they were working on shot open, and Danny quickly hid Suzy's gem behind his back. Ross came out of the door and started for the living room.

"Hey, Ross! I wanted to say I'm sorry for mentioning Kindergarten when you clearly didn't want to talk about it," Dan said as he was about yo leave the room. 

Ross turned back for a split second, and then left, shouting, "Shut up, dude! Holly's back!" Dan blinked, then looked back at Ninja Brian. He was just finishing, and wiping the gunk off of his gem. His red eyes shot up to look at Danny. Dan ignored him and went into his new room.

While his room was new, he did already know what it was gonna look like. Still, he took a moment to appreciate it. It had a huge bed, comically large, even though he didn't ever sleep. There were a lot of mirrors, making the room look confusing, and small pools and puddles that were also reflective. There was low lighting. Mood lighting. He stifled a giggle at it.

The lights were dim, but they centered around the bed. There were silky red sheets, and large fluffy white pillows. He moved a pillow to the middle of the bed, and set Suzy's gem there. He laughed at what she might think when she woke up.

He walked around some more, looking in the various mirrors. Some were regular, but most were magical. He loved it, because he loved seeing other versions of himself and other people. For instance, one showed the past. He looked into it and saw his last form, before he'd regenerated into this one. He wore a jacket, and he had dark eyes. He looked tired. Dan remembered that form from his days with the other team, Skyhill.

He continued to look in the mirrors. One showed his aura. One showed what Ninja Brian was up to. Dan watched him enter his room before moving on. One showed the future. He didn't like that one very much, because he preferred not to know the future. He tried not to look but he got a quick glance that showed him, with a deeply cracked gem, trying to scream. He grimaced, knowing the crack was the cause. He'd never had a very deep crack before, only his tiny self-induced one, and he was not eager to find out what caused it and what it would cause. 

He was thinking about it when he stepped into a small pool and fell into another room.

TBC

**Author's Note:**

> Just like Steven Universe episodes are frustratingly short, so are these chapters.
> 
> My tumblr: Sunderious.tumblr.com


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